The film "The Apprentice" will be released in American cinemas on October 11, confirms Abbasi to SVT Cultural News. The director's hope has always been that the film would reach cinema audiences in good time before the presidential election on November 5.
However, several major film companies and streaming services have refrained from taking on the film, despite it receiving significant attention at the Cannes Film Festival in May, according to the New York Times.
One of the film's financiers is also said to have tried to sell their share of the project before the distributor Briarcliff bought the rights. The company has previously launched politically sensitive films, such as "W", the controversial film about former US President George W Bush.
"The Apprentice" is about the young Donald Trump's life in 1970s New York and depicts, among other things, his dealings with the controversial lawyer Roy Cohn. Sebastian Stan plays the role of Trump in the film.
In a sequence in the film, Trump rapes his first wife Ivana. After the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, Trump threatened to sue Abbasi for defamation.
"This trash is pure fabrication and perpetuates lies that have long since been dismissed", said Trump's spokesperson Steven Cheung in a statement to AFP.
"The Apprentice" will have its Swedish premiere in early 2025, according to the film's Swedish producer Nima Yousefi, who told TT earlier this summer.
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